The Shanghai-based Fudan Development Institute (FDDI) at Fudan University and the Economic Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (ERI-BAS) here on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding aiming to strengthen cooperation.

　　The memorandum signed by ERI-BAS' director Alexander Tassev and FDDI's executive vice dean Zhang Yi aims to strengthen scientific capabilities of the two institutes, broaden and expand relations between their scientific communities and promote scientific cooperation in areas of mutual benefit.

　　At the signing ceremony, Tassev said economic cooperation should be supported by serious joint research in the most promising areas.

　　His institute was ready to share its experience in economic research, and had a strong interest in understanding the Chinese economy, Tassev said.

　　In turn, Zhang said the world has stepped into a new stage of globalization. "We need to cooperate, to know more each other, to get trust and mutual understanding for this new world."